Heavenstone 01 - The Heavenstone Secrets

something inferior, and you’d be even more unhappy than you are at the public school.”
    “Didn’t she show you my work?”
    “Of course she did. Why do you think I’m home this early? Why do you think I leave your father every Friday this early when there is so much to do at the office?”
    I waited to see if she was going to add something nice, but she went back to sorting through some papers.
    “Cassie, Mrs. Underwood told me I was doing a lot better.”
    “Yes, she told me the same thing. I looked at what she calls ‘a lot better.’ It’s on the upper end of the average scale, but far from what I would call ‘a lot better.’ I let her know it, too. In fact, I told her that if there wasn’t a real improvement soon, I’d have to let her go. Maybe that’s why she didn’t look so happy leaving. But we’re not going to throw away Heavenstone money. I want value for what I pay for, real value, not window dressing.”
    I stood with a mix of emotions swirling inside me. Cassie’s words were hurtful, but even morehurtful to me was my disappointment. I had been looking forward to a compliment from her as well as Mrs. Underwood. Cassie’s opinion was very important to me, but that disappointment turned into anger, too.
    “I’m trying, Cassie. I really am. I thought you would appreciate that.”
    She looked up at the portrait of our grandfather, just the way Daddy often did, and then looked at me.“I do appreciate that, Semantha. That’s why I’m so upset. I don’t think she is doing well by you. I’m only looking out for you. I can’t believe you don’t see that. I can’t believe you have so little appreciation for my concern. That hurts me more than anything.”
    She looked away again, as if she didn’t want me to see her eyes tear over.
    “And with all we’ve been going through,” she added, almost under her breath.
    My indignation wilted. Maybe I was misinterpreting her concern for me. After all, why else would she be so critical of Mrs. Underwood? She was the one who had raved about her and arranged for her to be here.
    “I’m sorry, Cassie. I just thought you’d be happy about the progress I’ve made with Mrs. Underwood and—”
    “Well, I’m not, and I don’t hesitate to tell people what I really think, Semantha. As you know, I never have.” She smiled. “Daddy says that’s because I was born under the sign Sagittarius. Same as Mother, by the way, only she was more reticent about speaking her mind, especially in public—whenever she was inpublic, that is. Anyway, don’t concern yourself about all this right now. Do the best you can, and we’ll see.”
    She rose.
    “I have to prepare myself for a date with Porter. He’s booked Le Jardin Francais, which, as you know, is an elegant restaurant. We were taken there last year.”
    “I remember. I remember how much Mother liked it.”
    “Of course, she would. I remember you weren’t too happy with anything on the menu.”
    “I don’t like the thought of eating snails,” I said, and she laughed. It was the first time in a long time that something I said had amused her so much. “Well, I don’t! I keep seeing them crawling over the tiles outside. Ugh.”
    “You’ll get used to those things someday, I hope.” She started out. “It’s the world we both belong in, Semantha, little Semantha.”
    She suddenly kissed me on the cheek.
    “I’ll get your opinion of what I wear and how I look. Try to think beyond Uncle Perry’s idea of what’s in style and what isn’t.”
    I returned to the kitchen to finish the dinner preparations.
    A little more than a half-hour later, she appeared.
    “Well?” she said, standing in the hallway.
    I put everything down and went out to her. She was wearing one of Mother’s more elegant and expensive dresses. I remembered when Mother had bought it and the first time she had worn it. It was an Oscar de la Renta strapless, cherry silk, sponge crepecolumn dress, ankle-length. When I had seen Mother coming down the stairway, I thought to myself, my mother is as pretty as, if not prettier than, any movie star. I had dreamed of becoming as beautiful, but as it turned out, Cassie was the one who continued to resemble her more and more.
    In fact, right now, Cassie looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her. It took my breath away, because her wearing this dress, fixing her hair to be like Mother’s, wearing Mother’s makeup just the way Mother had worn it, and wearing Mother’s